Belles and Scoundrels
by VictoriaAGrey
Summary: A charity ball sets Scarlett forth on a crash course with destiny, but is she willing to go along for the ride?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Apparently modern versions of Scarlett and Rhett don't go over too well with some on here, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway! I'd love to know what you all think so review or message me. Thanks! **_

**Chapter 1: King Cotton  
**

As Scarlett O'Hara stood in observance of the final preparations for the coming night's charity ball, she felt an overwhelming sense of pride towards herself. If it hadn't been for her and her efforts, this ball would be taking place in some second-rate ballroom in NYC as it had last year and she felt her father's company, King Cotton, one of the largest textile manufacturers in the United States, deserved better. At her insistence and the trepidation of her father Gerald, he allowed her to plan the ball in the hopes that she could restore the reputation of the company's annual charity ball that had been nearly destroyed by the previous year's debacle.

Under Scarlett's care, the ball was taking place in Las Vegas for the first time since its inception. The idea of a destination ball excited her and made her feel important knowing that invitees would be traveling from NYC to take part in the festivities that she had planned. She had managed to commandeer the ballroom of the Bellagio for the event and because it was taking place in the casino, they were allowing their tables and dealers to be used in the private event; for a steep price of course, but Scarlett did not care. This ball was going to be a spectacle and no expense was too much.

"Damn it! How many times do I have to tell you that the DJ booth is to be on the RIGHT side of the stage!? Fix it now!" she screamed at the crew of men setting up the booth. Great balls of fire! Could nobody do anything right!?

"Scarlett, I'm sorry! I should have realized that it was on the wrong side sooner," Melanie Hamilton apologized as she started towards the stage to supervise the move.

Melanie Hamilton, Scarlett's "best friend", was starting to become the annoyance of a lifetime. She had put on a good act of friendship for years, but she only did it for the benefits of her society connections and Ashley Wilkes. Although Melanie and Ashley had been married for years, Scarlett still refused to think of her as Melanie Wilkes. She loved Ashley too much and to think of him and his act of betrayal on a constant basis by thinking of her as Mrs. Wilkes would upset her too much and likely send her into a fit of rage.

But whatever; she could think about that tomorrow. Right now, she had party preparations to oversee and nothing was more important than that.

* * *

Green truly is my color, Scarlett thought to herself as she took in her appearance in the mirror one last time before going down to see the finished ballroom. Her vintage green Versace gown, boasting a hip-high leg slit and plunging neckline, made her already irresistible appearance of emerald green eyes, alabaster skin, and long black hair look even more devastating. No man stood a chance that night if she decided to turn her affections on them, Ashley included, and Scarlett was counting on this. He may be married, but that didn't stop him from being a man, and a divorce was easy enough to get if only she could finally ensnare him. Yes, tonight she was finally going to have Ashley Wilkes for herself.

During her ride down the elevator, Scarlett silently prayed that the ballroom looked as she had envisioned it. If it didn't, there would be hell to pay for whoever had fucked it up, giving her an excuse to yell at Melanie, which she would gladly take. It was one of the few reasons she liked Melanie; she could yell at her and she would still stick around apologizing, believing she had actually done something wrong. Well, she had actually done something wrong; she married Ashley and that gave Scarlett plenty of reason to be angry at her forever.

All of her fears about the potential disaster that awaited her in the ballroom though went out the window when she stepped inside. The flower centerpieces, which featured cotton branches, looked stunning, the blackjack, poker, roulette, and craps tables were set up where she wanted them with their dealers at the ready, and the sprawling bar sporting any type of liquor or spirit desirable was established. It all looked better than she had hoped and it nearly brought tears to her eyes. Her father would be so proud when he saw what she had accomplished.

"Scarlett, it's time for you to walk the white carpet! Everyone is waiting for you!" Melanie shouted to her from across the room.

"Coming!" Scarlett yelled back as she quickly made her way across the room to Melanie's side. She had nearly forgotten about the white carpet all of the guests were to walk as they entered the party. Scarlett's elation at seeing how beautifully everything turned out even allotted her room in her mind to compliment Melanie's appearance. She had cleaned up quite nicely and her conservative, but form-fitting Calvin Klein black dress showed off what figure she had.

"You look stunning! I love the new dress," Scarlett complimented as they quickly made their way to the arrival bay behind the backdrop for the white carpet.

"You're too kind my dear. I practically look underdressed standing next to you! You look marvelous!" Melanie beamed. This was another of the scarce reasons Scarlett liked Melanie; she was always full of nice things to say about her.

"Melanie, Scarlett! Aren't you two a sight for sore eyes!?" Ashley called from the front of the front of the arrival bay. Scarlett's heart skipped a beat when she saw him. He was wearing a grey wool suit with a broad black tie, which gave him a classic air. Her heart melted at the sight but quickly froze over again as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek but gave Melanie a breathtaking kiss that should have been hers. Damn him!

"I have to walk to carpet now. I'll see you two inside," she quickly said to dismiss herself from them. They called back something to her, but she failed to hear whatever they said. Her blood was boiling in her veins at Ashley's lackluster reception of her, but she had to quickly push that aside. Now was her moment on the carpet and she intended to wow the crowd.

Walking the carpet, she was greeted by catcalls from men watching the scene from the strip and photographers yelling her name so she would turn to their camera. The flashing lights from the cameras were blinding, but she enjoyed every second of her walk. She knew she looked better than anyone else was going to that evening and she wanted the world to know that she knew it. And now she had photographic evidence of it.

"You've out done yourself this time Scarlett! What a knock out!" Cathleen Calvert called to her upon entering the ballroom. Scarlett actually liked Cathleen and had invited her to the event knowing that she would pick up on all the juicy gossip from the night. It was a relief to see her since she had spent so much time with Melanie while in Vegas and Melanie was, needless to say, boring as hell in Vegas. Which is what she was anywhere else, but it was especially irritating here. Cathleen knew how to have a good time and would know all the best spots to go to.

"I know, right!?" Scarlett laughed as she gave a dramatic spin upon approaching Cathleen to show off her dress.

"I'm raiding your wardrobe before we go out tomorrow night. It's not fair for one person to have all those fabulous clothes to themselves!" she giggled. Cathleen always dressed well, as she was now in a blue Donna Karen number, but Scarlett knew she dressed better.

"Fine by me! Now start filling me in on what you've heard," she pushed, wanting to know what everyone was saying about the ball back in the city.

"This ball was the talk of the town the entire week before I left. Everyone is going to be here Scarlett. Everyone!" Cathleen told her excitedly. She had flown in just this morning from New York and would know how the city was reacting to the ball. It was a relief to Scarlett's ears to hear of how eagerly anticipated it was.

"It looks like you're right!" Scarlett exclaimed as she saw all of the people entering the room. "Half of New York is here!"

"Yes, the good half," Cathleen agreed. Scarlett loved that Cathleen could be such a snob about her stature in NYC because she was just as snobby about her own.

"Oh good Lord! What is that bitch doing here!?" Scarlett raged. She could see Emmie Slattery from her spot walking the white carpet. Emmie was wearing some ridiculously short Betsy Johnson dress with the its glittery corset portion obviously tied too tightly. The photogs were loving it; probably hoping for a wardrobe malfunction.

"She's sleeping with your dad's GM from the Atlanta branch. Wilkerson or something like that," Cathleen informed her.

"Well she's not going to rain on my parade. Even the slightest transgression gets her kicked out. Do you understand me?" Scarlett ordered Cathleen, as if she could do something about it.

"Oh sure, at the slightest sign of her Janet Jackson impression I'll have her removed," she sarcastically replied causing Scarlett to laugh.

They were having a great time people-watching the white carpet from their spot uninterrupted. Scarlett was enjoying this time because it allowed her to vent her rudest thoughts about people and their outfits with an excuse. Cathleen always laughed, as most of Scarlett's followers did, and it pleased her to no end. Scarlett was also happy that she had recovery time away from Ashley so she could regain her wits about trying to get him tonight after his passive greeting of her. The carpet had remained fairly predictable until the cameras started to flash uncontrollably.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Scarlett asked Cathleen, who was already trying to get a better view. If someone was causing a scene on her carpet, she was going to go ballistic on them, no matter who it was.

"I don't know, hold on," she responded, craning her head in a way that was clearly uncomfortable. "Holy shit! He's here!"

"Who's here!?" Scarlett questioned excitedly. She craned her neck to be just above Cathleen's and that's when she saw who was causing the scene.

She did not know who he was, but she could easily tell he was a man of great power and even greater arrogance. Inwardly Scarlett swore at herself for thinking he was so attractive because his smug facial expression obviously showed he already knew. The mystery man was incredibly tall, with dark tan skin and slicked-back jet black hair. He was wearing an in-season three piece suit from Giorgio Armani with a black silk tie and gold watch chain extending from the second button on his vest to his vest pocket. The perfectly tailored suit hugged his rippling muscles in such a way that Scarlett was certain it could even make Melanie think inappropriate thoughts about him. What caused the scene, however, was that Mr. Arrogant had arrived with two skimpily dressed supermodels, one on each arm, whom Scarlett was certain she had seen on billboards plastered all over Times Square.

"Rhett Butler! Oh Scarlett, he only goes to the best parties. It's guaranteed to be a success now!" Cathleen bellowed excitedly.

"Rhett Butler... Rhett Butler, where have I heard that name before?" she questioned as she tried to rake her brain for the answer.

"Don't you remember!? He recently made the Forbes 400 list and Fortune's 40 Under 40! He's filthy rich, not to mention he's known around the city as a playboy extraordinaire," she whispered back conspiratorially.

"I can see that! Why didn't he just go the full nine yards and pull a Bruce Wayne and arrive in a helicopter?" she practically spat back at Cathleen. She was furious that this Butler man was making a mockery of her charity ball by showing up with two skanky supermodels; not mention that he had roused her in a way that Ashley had not that evening, which made no sense and Scarlett hated nothing more than things that made no sense.

"He probably would've if he could've. Do you have any idea of what I would like to do to that man?" Cathleen said with lust pouring out of her eyes.

"I imagine it's pretty close to what those skanks are going to do to him in a few hours," Scarlett replied bitterly as he walked by with his hands placed far too lowly on the backs of the supermodels as he escorted them into the ballroom. She started to debate whether she should confront him for making a mockery of her ball when she turned and saw her father on the white carpet.

Seeing him made Scarlett glow with pride. He looked dashing in his white tuxedo and black shoes and tie. He was bursting with glee at the show Scarlett had put on and she immediately excused herself from Cathleen's side to go greet him.

"You've put on quite the parade, puss! I could not be more proud of me daughter!" she said brimming with pride as he hugged Scarlett, Irish brogue on full display.

"Pa I'm so happy you like it! This more than repairs the damage that last year's party caused, don't you think!?" she asked hopefully.

"More than repairs it! I knew I put this in good hands when I charged you with planning it! There's nothing me daughter knows more about than parties," he boasted.

"Let me show you around! Come now!" she said as she took his arm and guided him into the ballroom that was almost vibrating with excitement.

* * *

As the hours passed, it seemed that the ball just got more exciting rather than winding down. Everyone was dancing and drinking to their hearts desire and donating more money to the cause than some families made in a year. Men and women alike were having the time of their lives gambling away small fortunes at the tables. The only one who seemed to not be losing was the infamous Rhett Butler. He had caused yet another scene when he cleared $100,000 in a single high-stakes hand of poker and then casually threw his winnings into the donation pot as if it meant nothing. Although she could acknowledge that he was charitable, she still refused to acknowledge him in any other way as the women surrounding him were.

Scarlett, as she expected, had attracted every man in the room; all except for Ashley. He had remained firmly at Melanie's side, much to her chagrin. If she wanted to talk to him, she had to go up to him while Melanie looked on the entire time, seemingly happy that her husband and best friend were getting along so well. Scarlett was talking to them, attempting to come up with a scenario to get Ashley alone, when her father took the stage.

"Everyone grab a glass of champagne! I wish to propose a toast!" he said, slurring his speech slightly with his glass of champagne in hand. Most in the ballroom grabbed a glass as the servers came around with trays.

"For starters, I would like to thank everyone in this room for being so generous. Together, you have helped us raise over three million dollars to clothe homeless children in the US and abroad!" he shouted to the cheers of the crowd.

"And last, but certainly not least, I would love to thank my beautiful daughter Scarlett for putting on such a show! I could not be more proud of you and all you have done for your dear old Pa. Cheers!" he exclaimed as everyone in the room turned to face Scarlett. The applause pleased Scarlett immensely and rather than taking it humbly, she smiled broadly and lightly bowed several times to the crowd. Melanie and Cathleen looked beside themselves with pride towards Scarlett and Ashley's fervent cheering lifted her spirits to new highs. This bubble was nearly burst when she caught sight of Rhett Butler out of the corner of her eye clapping, but seemingly laughing at her. God how I'd love to slap that man and wipe that grin off his face! Scarlett thought with impotent anger.

"I could not be more proud of you sweetheart," Melanie gushed as she gave her a hug.

"Yes, Scarlett. You've done a fantastic job," Ashley said as he smiled warmly to her.

Scarlett's heart swelled at his compliment and as she was going to give him a flirty reply, when she noticed that Melanie had toasted her with a glass of water rather than champagne.

"Oh Melly! Why would you toast me with water? That's no fun!" she chided playfully, but with the truth in the back of her mind. Melanie was never fun, but that was beside the point.

"I, well, I don't know if I should say right now," she replied smiling ear to ear.

"Why not? It's not as if you're pregnant or anything," Scarlett joked.

"Well, actually..." Melanie said gazing lovingly up to Ashley.

"Actually, yes Scarlett. Melly and I are expecting a baby. We just found out this week and were waiting till after the ball to tell you, knowing how busy you were with it and all," Ashley replied with enthusiasm, but seemingly not as much as Melly.

"Oh wow. That's great. I know how much you've been wanting a baby Melanie," she replied with the barest amount of happiness needed to fend off suspicions to her real feelings. She now felt as if she were in a dark, black tunnel. Nothing made sense to her any more. Pregnant! Melly couldn't be pregnant! How could Ashley have a child with Melly when he belonged to her!? She needed to get out of there and away from him as soon as possible. She could not possibly face him, not now.

She left their group after all the necessary hoorahs and congratulations needed for the news of a coming baby and made her way across the ballroom to the bar. She needed a drink and she needed one badly.

"Hennessy on the rocks," she barked at the nearest available bartender. Hennessy had become her go-to liquor of choice over the past few months during days of stressful planning for this wretched night.

The bartender quickly placed the drink down in front of her and started to walk away from her before she spoke up. "You know what, just give me the bottle."

"The whole bot..." he started to question.

"I planned this fucking thing! Just give it to me!" she ordered. One glass of Hennessy was not going to do the trick tonight and she might as well take a bottle from the bar so she wouldn't have to leave the hotel to buy one. The bartender came back with the bottle of Hennessy and set it down in front of her.

"What the hell is this?" she asked, staring at the empty bottle save for maybe a shot left at the bottom.

"That's what's left ma'am," he replied anxiously.

"Then go get me a new bottle," she said in a tone that made it clear to him that he should have obviously thought of that before bringing her a nearly empty one.

"But that is all that is left of the Hennessy. There are no other bottles," the bartender said with new irritation after being talked down to as if he were a child.

"You've got to be kidding me," Scarlett said with disbelief.

"Not kidding. Sorry," he bit back, evidently not feeling sorry.

"How dare you talk down to me!" she seethed before she threw the nearly empty bottle of Hennessy at him. It missed him, but only barely. However, it did not fail to miss a row of colorful bottles behind him, shattering at least three on impact and causing four others to fall to the ground and break there.

The shattering made a terribly sound but only those at the bar noticed it above the loud music. Everyone looked around to see who had done it, much to Scarlett's further mortification, and she was sure a few picked up on it being her who had done it. Luckily it didn't captivate people's attention for long and they went back to their drinks and conversations. God can this night get any worse!? she cried inwardly.

"Assaulting the staff and taking out half the liquor at the bar... I think you've just ruined your own party," a deep, condescending voice dripping with humor from behind her commented. Scarlett whipped around, ready to assail whoever said that, when she found herself face to face with Rhett Butler.

"This isn't a party, it's a charity ball" she responded viciously. She was not about to allow herself to fall under his spell as all the other woman at the ball had, but it was undoubtedly disorienting being so close to him. He smelled of rich cologne and cigars, a deadly combination to most women. And he knew it.

"Oh really? Do educate me on the finer points of the difference," he said with a tone that was outwardly curious but so obviously intended to be mocking.

"A charity ball is done to benefit a cause such as tonight's is to benefit children who..." Scarlett started knowing he really wasn't listening, but saying it for her own good.

"And the fine people of this room can't find time to donate otherwise?" he posed before she could finish.

"No, it's just that..." she began not really knowing how to answer.

"It's just that it brings more attention to the issue? Garbage! You know what the difference between parties and charity balls really is? Charity balls allow the wealthy to throw their money around for all those to see under the veil of "caring"," Rhett replied with malice, whose origin she did not know.

"Like you were after that hand of poker?" she bit back thinking she had him cornered.

"Yes," he replied blandly with a sparkle in his black eyes.

"You're an ass," Scarlett said with as much conviction as possible.

"And you're an insolent brat but you'll hear me making no qualms about that," he laughed freely.

"Leave me alone! Don't you have some sluts to go bang or something?" Scarlett practically yelled at him, immediately regretting her choice of words. His howling laughter at her statement did not make matters much better either.

"Those sluts, as you called them, have been waiting on me for months. I'm sure they can wait for a few minutes longer," he arrogantly replied.

"Why make them wait?" she chided sarcastically as she tried to walk away from him, but his large body barricaded her in next to the bar.

"Because I thought I'd enjoy a dance with you first," he said as he flashed her a stunning smile of straight, strikingly white teeth.

"I wouldn't dance with you if you were the last person on earth," she cried as she shoved past him, noting with resentment how ridiculously hard his body was.

"Maybe not then, but you will soon enough," he mockingly called after her as she made her way out the nearest exit, his hearty laughter following her the whole way.


	2. Waffles and Pink Champagne

_**A/N: I'm happy this modern GWTW fanfic of mine got so well received! Thank you! :)**_

**Chapter 2: Waffles and Pink Champagne  
**

The blazing Las Vegas sun abruptly awoke Scarlett from her dreamless sleep. She tossed and turned groggily for a few more minutes in the hopes that sleep would once again claim her, but it continued to evade her so she decided to get breakfast instead. Opening her eyes, the unrelenting light of the sun brought her searing headache to the forefront of her thoughts.

"God, what happened last night?" she mumbled to herself as she threw the covers aside and started looking for her robe.

In truth, Scarlett knew what happened the previous night but was hoping she had had too much champagne and it had warped her memories of the evening. It was all too awful to think about otherwise. As she grabbed her robe and entered the bathroom, she took in her disheveled appearance. She had evidently not washed off her make up because it had caked and smeared all over her face and her hair was a massive, tangled mess. Pulling out a hair brush and face wash from her luggage, she attempted to tame her wild woman appearance before going into the living room to face Cathleen, who was splitting the suite with her now that she had arrived.

A knock on the door to her room as she was washing her face brought her out of her reverie. She yelled for Cathleen to wait a second while she finished aggressively scrubbing her face free of any make up. Once she was certain it had all been washed off, she tied her now untangled hair in a ponytail and went to open the door.

"What the fuck Scarlett?" Cathleen angrily bit at her when she opened the door.

"Good morning to you too sunshine. What do you want?" she sarcastically replied as she walked past her towards the phone in the living room to order breakfast.

"What do I want!? I want you to explain what happened last night!" she yelled at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Scarlett diverted as she picked up the phone and started down the list of hotel numbers for the one to the kitchen.

"Don't pull that shit with me now! You created a mess is what you did!" Cathleen scolded crossing the room towards her.

"If you can shut the fuck up for two seconds maybe I'll explain everything," Scarlett growled at her. Cathleen was insufferable at times and this was one of them. Scarlett was angry, hung-over, and starving and that is the last time when you should be thinking of testing her. "Oh hi! Yes, I would like to order the waffle platter with bacon, fruit, and a large pitcher of orange juice. Yes, billing the room will be fine. Thank you," she thanked the kitchen service as she hung up the phone and turned on Cathleen.

"What are people talking about?" she barked at her, cutting to the point.

Cathleen continued to glare at her, but wisely deciding to not go to war with an angry Scarlett, she divulged all she knew. "You made a fool of yourself Scarlett. Throwing a bottle at a helpless bartender and breaking nearly $2000 worth of alcohol is the least of your concerns."

"That bartender was hardly helpless! He purposely pissed me off; he had it coming. And as for the alcohol, there was not $2000 worth lost by my one thrown bottle," she retorted. This was the last thing she wanted to be dealing with right now.

"You fail to realize then that you broke several bottles of Bollinger and a nearly 100 year old bottle of whiskey," she bitterly informed her.

"If I wasn't so hung-over I would almost think it's funny that you think I give a shit what people think about me anymore," Scarlett laughed mirthlessly as she started to close all the blinds in the living room.

"You should care! If I wasn't on damage control already along with tall-dark-and-handsome you would have quite the scandal on your hands; one that would tarnish not only your name but the name of your dad's annual ball!" she replied trying to get Scarlett to see her point.

"Who the hell is tall-dark-and-handsome?" Scarlett asked, deciding that she could only focus on one thing at a time as she took a seat on the couch facing away from the now closed blinds.

"Rhett Butler! You're lucky that he covered for your ass after you broke those bottles or this could have spun out of control before I got to it," Cathleen informed her with an obvious twinkle in her eyes at the thought of the man.

"Ha! You make it sound as if he cares when he probably just finds the whole thing funny!" Scarlett laughed at Cathleen's apparent idiocy. "What story did he spin anyway?"

"That the bartender had been less than receptive when you told him to get the empty bottle of Hennessy off the bar. You had then picked it up and attempted to throw it into the trashcan behind him but missed and hit the bottles instead," she detailed for her.

"And people are buying that story!? How stupid can they get!?" Scarlett laughed. It was the dumbest excuse she had ever heard to explain away her bad behavior and she almost admired the arrogant ass's ability to convince everyone to believe a story that was so obviously a lie.

"I don't care if they actually believe it or he just charmed the pants off of everyone long enough for them to be blinded from the truth! The point is, is that you're mostly off the hook for it," she replied as she took a seat across from Scarlett in a plush armchair.

"Whatever. You make it sound like I owe him or something," Scarlett said as she wondered where her breakfast was.

"It wouldn't kill you to thank him Scarlett," Cathleen suggested.

"You realize he probably just said that so I would feel like I owe him right? I refused to dance with him and this is his way of getting back at me so I have to go to him and thank him. It's just a power trip! He just wants to do me, like he wants to do any other thing that has two legs and boobs, and this is his way of luring me in!" she balked at Cathleen. There was no way she was falling into his well placed trap, no matter how good looking he was. She refused to become just another notch on his belt, which she was sure was already full.

"Why not let him!? He's gorgeous and probably fantastic in bed! I would go for him," Cathleen told her as if Scarlett didn't already know.

"That's because you're a slut," Scarlett stated matter-of-factly. It wasn't a lie either and she knew Cathleen knew it. She had pretty much slept her way up the social ladder and there was no denying it.

"Scarlett!" Cathleen yelled, appalled at Scarlett's frank statement.

"What? You have never backed away from the title before. You just don't like it when it isn't to your advantage," Scarlett replied, amused at her friend now seemingly shocked at having been called a slut. It was what it was and Scarlett had no issues calling her out for it. Why run from the truth when it was apparent?

"I'm going to treat this as an isolated incident brought on by your hang-over and lack of food," Cathleen said, effectively ending the conversation and throwing the issue under the rug as if it never happened. As if on cue, there was a knock on the suite door, signaling that breakfast had finally arrived.

"Go get the door Cathleen. If I do it I think my head will split open," Scarlett ordered from the couch, refusing to get up from her comfortable position.

"Fine," she responded as she made her way to the door. Opening the door, the delicious smell filled the room and Scarlett immediately forgot about her unpleasant morning.

* * *

As Scarlett knew would happen, as it always did, Cathleen quickly forgot about the argument they had in the morning and went throughout the day continuing to dispel any rumors about Scarlett's conduct at the ball through some well placed texts and phone calls. Scarlett watched the whole thing from the couch as she tuned in and out of whatever was playing on TV, amused that Cathleen had somehow become her de facto PR person, and that was mostly why she kept her around. Scarlett did acknowledge that it was a symbiotic relationship at times, with her needing her connections to stop rumors before they started and she was entertaining, but Cathleen needed her more, which is probably why she worked so hard to stay in her good graces. Scarlett's standing in society was far more valuable than Cathleen's and for Cathleen to keep her newly acquired position in society, she needed to stay friends with Scarlett. Both knew this was the truth of their relationship inwardly, but outwardly it was not discussed.

As a peace offering, Scarlett let Cathleen go through her wardrobe to choose an outfit for their night out. Cathleen had suggested going to TAO, the nightclub famous for its oriental design and catering to its wealthy clientele. Scarlett elected to wear a short, red Galliano dress that showed off her shapely legs and Cathleen chose a vintage thigh-high silver dress that was tight in all the right places. While the realization that Cathleen looked better in it than she did was a bitter pill to swallow, it didn't bother Scarlett for long when she saw how stunning she looked in her dress. No man would be able to resist her tonight and she was excited by the prospect of having her choice of eligible bachelors to choose from. It was mostly for show though. Scarlett believed herself to be above a one-night stand and had never considered taking part in one. The whole thing just seemed so gross to her. Old-fashioned or not, Scarlett at least felt she should be in a relationship with a man before sleeping with him.

Not that her philosophy had done much for her in that department; she had an awful impression of what sex was and she still could not see the allure of it. Her first boyfriend, Charles Hamilton, Melanie's brother, had been a blundering idiot in the bedroom and she was so displeased by their first time together that she nearly broke their relationship off right when he finished. She was furious that her first time had been so boring, not to mention painful, that she resisted him for weeks afterwards. If it hadn't been for the fact that it seemed such an effective method of making Ashley jealous and getting Melanie on her side even more, she would have never stayed with him for the three months that she did and tolerate his obnoxious advances. She was happy to be rid of him when he entered the Air Force. It gave her the perfect excuse to leave him, keep her new alliance with Melanie, and she had won the battle of making Ashley envious of Charles.

Ashley had admitted so one night when they were talking in his apartment. At that point he and Melanie had no engagement plans, they barely seemed friends at all, and Scarlett wanted him desperately. It was the moment she had been waiting for, so when he kissed her she took it without hesitation. Although they were not in a committed relationship of sorts, she did love him and allowed herself to sleep with him. While the experience was not boring or painful as it had been with Charles, it still lacked any luster to draw her back. She did not crave it at all, but she enjoyed the closeness it gave between her and Ashley and if he wanted it, she would be more than willing to give it if it won his heart.

But it didn't win his heart, or his commitment at that. He became engaged to Melanie within the following month, giving some lame excuse to her that they would never work because they were so different. It broke her heart, but never her spirit. She knew he still wanted her, but had resisted all urges on the grounds of "I'm married now." They had kissed on occasion since then, but that was the extent of their physical interaction. Now he was expecting a baby with that ninny for a wife that he had. While Scarlett knew the day was coming, it didn't make it any easier to handle. It would have been so easy for him to leave Melanie for her before the pregnancy, but now he had a child on the way. That changed everything! Ashley and Melanie were now tied together forever, not her and Ashley.

Such depressing thoughts would have to be put off until tomorrow though. Tonight she was going to have fun in TAO attracting every man in the room and that was bound to be plenty for her to handle.

* * *

As Scarlett and Cathleen left the hotel to head for the club, they talked excitedly about who they might see there. Plenty of their friends were bound to still be in town from New York and a fair share of Hollywood always seemed to be meandering around the place. Scarlett for one was hoping to run into the Tarleton brothers. They were both party animals at heart, which is why they made for the best frat boys away at school at Georgia State, and Scarlett had only seen them for a brief while at the ball. Her sister Careen had long been jealous of Scarlett's rapport with the Tarleton brothers, especially Brent whom she had a thing for, but Scarlett didn't care. Careen had made no effort to make the ball (her flight out of Italy had been delayed due to storms, but this meant nothing to Scarlett) so she would feel not an ounce of guilt if she were to flirt with him.

As for her evil sister Suellen, she was off schmoozing that old bat Frank Kennedy in God-knows-where Tennessee. Scarlett inflamed at the thought of her sisters preferring to be off somewhere else instead of supporting their father here. At least their mother had an excuse not to show...

Fucking Hell, I can't think about Mother right now, she thought as she pushed the thought aside quickly. The doors of TAO were opening for her and Cathleen and she needed to focus her energies on having a great time dancing.

"What's the buy-in for a table?" Cathleen called to a drink server over the loud house music.

"It's at $1,500 right now. Not bad for a Saturday night! Do you want to buy-in now?" the server replied.

"No, not yet. Thank you though!" Scarlett said before Cathleen could respond. "Let's dance for an hour and then buy-in," she explained to Cathleen. She wanted nothing more than to get on the dance floor, the only place in the world where she could forget all her troubles for the time she was there.

"Okay!" Cathleen yelled to her excitedly as Scarlett grabbed her arm and dragged her onto the dance floor.

The beat began to reverberate in Scarlett's chest when she hit floor and she started to dance. So much was wrong with her world at that moment and dancing was helping her to forget it all. Her body moved to the beat as she continued to dance through countless songs. As she suspected, she did see the Tarleton brothers, but after dancing with her for a few songs, Brent got side-tracked by some blonde who was obviously willing to do more with him than flirt. Scarlett continued her dancing solo until Cathleen grabbed her by the arm.

"Let's take a break from all this dancing! Lets buy-in now," Cathleen requested over the music.

"Alright," Scarlett replied as she realized suddenly that she could use a break. "Do you think we could buy-in that private room?" she joked pointing at the private room knowing how expensive they always were, especially in Vegas.

"Sure! Do you have ten times the buy-in value?" Cathleen asked sarcastically, knowing what the average buy-in of a private room was.

"Excuse me!" Scarlett called when she saw the first passing drink waiter. "What's the buy-in for a table now?"

"$125,000," he informed her as he stepped towards her.

"What!? It was only $1,500 when we got here an hour ago!" Scarlett yelled angrily at the innocent server.

"I'm sorry ma'am but it happens whenever those with tables and rooms start throwing around a lot of money! If you want to buy-in I suggest you do it now before the price sky rockets. It's not unusual for it to go up to $500,000 in a couple of hours," the server told her and he could tell from her expression she was not willing to pay that much for a table.

"Maybe later. Thanks," she said as she walked away with Cathleen in tow.

"I knew that would happen!" Cathleen cried as they made their way into the bathroom.

"If you knew that would happen you should have insisted harder for us to get a table when we walked in," Scarlett bit as she began fixing her make-up in the mirror next to some starlet snorting coke.

"I didn't know it would get _that_ high," she insisted.

"Well too bad. Now we can't sit down and cool off before dancing again," she stated, disappointed that her exhaustion from no breaks in dancing would drive her back to her hotel room before she wanted to.

"At least we know to buy-in sooner now," Cathleen said trying to point out the bright side.

"Yay," Scarlett replied lackadaisically as she finished repairing her hair. She made her way to the bathroom door without waiting for Cathleen and as she walked down the hall towards the dance floor, she saw a drink server waiting with a single glass of pink champagne on a tray.

"Excuse me, but are you Miss O'Hara?" she asked as Scarlett approached.

"Yes?" Scarlett replied questioningly. How did she know her name?

"This drink is for you miss. Would you please follow me?" the server asked holding the tray out for Scarlett to take the drink.

"Where to?" she inquired as she sipped on the champagne. It had a delicious, crisp taste; it was likely the best glass of champagne she ever had.

"To the private room. The gentleman occupying it bought you this drink and requested your prescience," she replied with a friendly smile stretched across her face.

"Lead the way," she responded following her out of the hallway. Before thoughts of who the gentleman occupying the private room was, she was standing in front of the room paneled with opaque panes of glass looking out onto the dance floor. The server then handed her a red keycard etched with the words "TAO Room 1" in gold and departed. Taking a deep breath, Scarlett ran the card against the keypad and when it flashed green she entered the room.

Although there were at least ten other people in the room her eyes immediately, almost by instinct, fixed on a pair of dancing black eyes towards the back of the room. Rhett Butler was lounging casually on a large white leather couch alone smoking a cigar, whose smoke was pouring out of his mouth lazily. He looked so self-possessed and sure of himself with his look of polite indifference towards his surroundings. The way his black eyes sparkled was mesmerizing to Scarlett and as if against her will, she found herself moving towards him unknowingly and taking the seat beside him on the couch.

"Enjoying your champagne?" he asked as she sat down.

"Yes, it's delicious! I don't think I've ever had this kind before," she smiled. She was sure she could have many more glasses of it and not get bored of its flavor. It was divine.

"I'm sure you haven't. If you had you would have been far more upset about breaking several bottles of it last night," he teased with a look of anticipation waiting to see how she would react.

"Is that what you brought me in here for!? To tease me about last night!? If that is what all this is for then I'm leaving!" she exclaimed as she slammed the still half full champagne flute on the table and started to stand.

"Fiery little vixen aren't you!?" he laughed at her outburst. "I promise to not tease you about the other night if you stay with me awhile longer. My company here is so trite. You are like a breath of fresh air."

Scarlett had every intention of leaving the private room and the only thing that kept her from doing so was his firm grasp on her arm. It wasn't firm enough to not shake off, but she found that she didn't want to. His large warm hand felt as if it were sending an electrical charge through her bare arm and she briefly wondered what his hands would feel like elsewhere on her. The thought made her blush and she felt flustered knowing Ashley's touch had never affected her so. The man before her was a total mystery and the intrigue of it all is what made her sit back down.

"So, where are Thing 1 and Thing 2?" she asked when she sat back down. After taking inventory of the people in the room, she noticed that the supermodels were MIA.

"You mean the lovely ladies that accompanied me to your party last night? They are flying back to New York as we speak," he responded as if it were obvious.

"Already? Didn't you want them flanking you everywhere you go?" she teased remembering how much he seemed to enjoy the attention the sight of the three of them together brought.

"That was my original hope with bringing them but they developed the most curious habit during the night. They kept moaning 'more, more' and I simply had to send them away in order to get some sleep," he laughed as he smiled devilishly at her.

"You're disgusting!" Scarlett balked at him through ill suppressed giggles.

"Yes, and yet you find me humorous. What does that say about you?" he mockingly asked.

"It says I'm an idiot for continuing to put up with you. By the way, how did you know I was even here?" she asked finally realizing that there was no way for him to know.

At first he looked slightly confused by the question, but then he smiled as he came to a sort of realization. He then raised his eyebrows and tilted his head and eyes towards the front of the room. When she followed his gaze, she saw that while the panes of glass had been opaque on the outside of the room, inside they were crystal clear and overlooking the entire dance floor.

"Oh! I didn't realize that the frost was only on the outside," she replied lamely, feeling a little stupid for asking the question.

"It doesn't have to be. We can also frost it on the inside or we can even completely remove the frost so everyone on the dance floor can be as voyeuristic as we have been. The choice is yours," he posed as he continued to look outside. Scarlett was about to respond when she felt her clutch vibrate. Taking out her cell phone she saw that she had a new text message from Cathleen, who had completely slipped from conscious thought since she had been in the room.

_Where r u? Want 2 leave._

"Leave it her to spoil the night," Scarlett said out loud viciously.

"What's the problem?" Rhett asked looking back at her.

"My friend is wanting to leave already! She'll probably be pouting the whole way back to the hotel too," Scarlett said bitterly.

"Tell her to leave without you. I'll get you back to the Bellagio," he casually suggested as he took another puff from his cigar.

"Are you sure? I don't know if I should be leaving her alone though," Scarlett replied, wanting to stay but feeling torn between her obligation to see her friend safely back.

"Would it make you feel better if I had her taken back in my car?" he inquired.

"Yes, if you wouldn't mind," she responded, happy to find a solution to her issues of staying at the club and getting Cathleen back safe.

"Text your friend to wait at the front of the club for a man in a black suit and shirt with a red tie," he told her as she began typing back right away. "Clive!"

"Yes sir?" said a beautiful looking African American man approaching them wearing the same clothes Rhett had described.

"I need you take a Miss..." he started before turning to Scarlett.

"Cathleen," Scarlett interjected recognizing that she was to fill in the blank.

"Cathleen back to the Bellagio in my car. She is at the front of the club wearing..." he said turning back to Scarlett.

"A tight silver dress," she told him.

"A tight silver dress. Would you mind?" he asked the beautiful man.

"Not at all. I'll be back for you after," he replied as he left the room.

"Who is he?" Scarlett asked once he left as she resumed sipping her champagne.

"My assistant, body guard, chauffeur; basically anything I need him to be really," he informed her.

"Are you friends with him?" she asked. There seemed to be a light nature between the two that was not normally there between those who observed a strictly employer/staff relationship with their help.

"I suppose so. I admire him a great deal and he is always there for me when I need him, whether it be a business matter or private. He's a good man," he finished strongly. It was evident to Scarlett that he meant a lot to Rhett and it surprised her. He seemed to regard everything with indifference but his voice held nothing but admiration when speaking of the man named Clive.

"Do you not have many friends like that?" Scarlett pried wanting to know more about their relationship while completely ignoring her vibrating phone signaling a text from Cathleen.

"No. I have business associates and acquaintances all over the world but very few friends. One should be very careful when labeling someone a friend. The term is incredibly abused in our time," he replied seemingly indifferent again, but there was a note of irritation in his voice that puzzled her. It was as if the subject made him uncomfortable.

"Speaking of friends," he continued before she could say something. "Why did you say your friend would be pouting on the way back to the hotel?"

"Because we would have been leaving sooner than we hoped; due to us not having a table to rest at. You wouldn't believe it! In the one hour we were here the buy-in for a table exploded from $1,500 to $125,000! They said it happens when people start throwing their money around like no one's business!" she cried, her anger towards the people keeping her from getting a table resurfacing.

"I'm afraid Miss O'Hara that it wasn't multiple people's money driving the buy-in so high. The source of your troubles lies with one person," he informed her with an all knowing smile creeping onto his face.

"You're the asshole who drove the price so high!?" she bellowed before she could stop herself.

"Yes, I'm the asshole who drove the price so high," he choked out through booming laughter that filled the room.

"You nearly spoiled my night!" she laughed, forgetting her previous anger towards him at the sight of him laughing.

"Nearly? You mean it wasn't a complete loss? I wonder why," he joked as he winked at her. Scarlett rolled her eyes at his implication, but she knew it was the truth. He had likely saved her night and more than saved it, he made it fun.

"There is a reason I asked you in here though," he said lightly to regain Scarlett's attention.

"And what's that?" she asked intrigued.

"I want you to thank me for covering for your little spectacle last night and for tonight's champagne," he told her.

"I owe you no thank you! I did not ask for you to cover for me. What you did for me was out of courtesy. And no gentleman would ask for a thank you!" she spat at him.

"A gentleman shouldn't have to ask for a thank you because a lady freely gives one. And you clearly are no lady, but no bother. I'm not a gentleman. Besides it isn't your words I want as thanks," he said slowly, his voice drenched with all kinds of implications.

"And what is it that you want?" Scarlett inquired, hating how curious she was about what he wanted.

"I want my dance," he stated simply but with an edge of humor.

Debating what she should do, Scarlett looked into his eyes. They were filled humor, anticipation, and other emotions she could not place. Looking beyond his few rude comments, she had to admit he had been fun to be with and had likely saved her from a boring night back at the hotel room. With these thoughts in mind, she caved into his request with a smile. "Alright, you can have your dance."

"No more of that 'not if you were the last person on earth' rubbish?" he teased.

"No," she replied as she felt excitement build at the prospect at dancing with him.

Without another word, he put down his cigar and took her hand in his newly freed one. He kissed the top of it lightly, sending a charge through Scarlett, and flashed her a wicked smile. As she smiled back, he stood and started walking her hand-in-hand out of the private room. It was only then that she appreciated the low rumble of music in the room compared to the blaring music on the dance floor. She had barely any time to adjust before she felt him start to dance and urging her body to join his in the movement.

He was such an easy person to dance with that Scarlett began to forget her previous resistance to it. His towering, powerful frame felt so natural against her own that she found herself pulling him closer. The way his hands so skillfully traveled up and down the curves of her body gave her chills that she had never experienced and it was so thrilling that she began to crave more. Desire began to pool inside her for the man she was dancing with and the extent that it was spreading through her body began to startle her. She had never felt such carnal passion towards a man in her life. Her hair was flying freely behind her as she moved and a thin film of sweat, not entirely caused by exertion, covered her body. When both of his hands spread to cover her lower back, she felt an intense heat coming out of them that made her look back up into his eyes.

Rhett's dancing black eyes had become pools of deep desire that Scarlett began to sink into. In that moment she started to appreciate the sheer animal magnetism he possessed that attracted any and all women to him. It was undeniable to her now, with his body clad in expertly tailored charcoal grey slacks and vest that proved to only exacerbate his muscular build, pressed possessively against hers. She wanted him; she wanted him badly and the same passion she held for him was reflected back to her through his own lustful eyes.

"Come back with me Scarlett," he whispered in her ear. The way his lips moved against her ear, his hot breath grazing over her neck all spoke of passions she had never experienced. His deep voice silkily cascading into her ears screamed of sex and for the first time in as long as she remembered, she wanted it. She wanted sex with this man whom she barely knew, but felt she had known for a lifetime. He had awoken something inside her that had long felt as if it were dead.

As Scarlett began to fall into what her body seemed to desire most, she remembered with abrupt clarity what sex had always been like for her; either boring, painful, just there, or any combination of the three. She didn't want that with him, but she knew that is what she would get. It always was, whether it be with Charles or Ashley. Ashley. Didn't she love Ashley!? Shouldn't she be feeling these things for him and not this Rhett Butler; this Butler man who had been with too many women to count!? Not only would the sex be awful, but she would feel as if she were somehow betraying Ashley and Rhett Butler would likely discard her in the morning as easily as he had the supermodels. It was bad. It was all so bad! How could her treacherous body be making her feel these things for him!?

"I... I can't. I'm sorry," she said without looking him in the eyes before she ran away from him and temptation towards the club exit.

As she ran, Rhett Butler looked on with disappointment and sadness plain on his face as he began to wonder what he had done wrong.


	3. Treacherous Body

_**A/N: I'm happy so many of you are liking this modern take on our beloved Scarlett and Rhett. Your reviews have been amazing! Thank you!**_

**Chapter 3: Treacherous Body  
**

"Scarlett why did you..." Cathleen called from the couch when Scarlett walked into the hotel room.

"Shut up shut up shut up! I don't want to talk right now!" she bellowed in response as she stormed into her room and slammed the door.

During Scarlett's walk back to the hotel since she could not hail a cab, she had left her clutch containing her money and cell phone back in the private room and not wanting to face Rhett, she did not go back to retrieve it, she attempted to wade through all of her feelings. She loved Ashley didn't she!? Of course she did! She'd loved him for years! He was the only who had ever possessed her heart. He was the only who could ever possess her heart!

Then what kind of treacherous game was her body playing at then when she was dancing with Rhett Butler!? Her body called out for him as much as her heart called out for Ashley. It was all so wrong! She should never want to be with a man like him! He used women and discarded them as easily as she turned down dates. She would be treated no differently... then why did she care so much!?

By the time she had arrived back at the hotel, she was a flurry of angry and confused emotions and she wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Yes! Sleep will help! Scarlett told herself multiple times. Ignoring Cathleen turned out to be the easiest part of her evening though because it took her hours longer to go to sleep than she had hoped. She had to keep shutting down thoughts that if she was just going to be awake all night she should have just gone back with Rhett to his room. When sleep finally took her, thoughts of him still continued to swirl wildly in her dreams.

* * *

A knock on the door in what Scarlett perceived to be the early hours of the morning awoke her. She ignored it in the hopes that Cathleen would get it. It was likely breakfast, but even thoughts of food couldn't drive her to get out of bed yet. Her guilt at having betrayed Ashley, although how she had betrayed him she was not sure, started to sink in as her bodily desires of the previous night started to fade. When a second knock thudded through the room, Scarlett unwillingly got out of bed, threw on her silk robe, and made her way to answer the door. Useless twit, Scarlett screamed at Cathleen in her head.

Throwing open the door, expecting to see a waiter with a tray of food, so she was startled to see the well-dressed body of a tall, fit man covering his face with a large bouquet of different colored peonies. The sight puzzled Scarlett but the mystery didn't last long when she saw the eyes of Rhett Butler poke over the top, causing her to giggle and cover her mouth to stifle them.

"You shouldn't suppress your laughter. They say it helps you live longer," he smiled as he held out the peonies for her to take.

"Is that why you're always laughing? So you can continue to haunt this world longer than you should?" she teased as she smilingly took the peonies. Peonies were her favorite flower and she was surprised by all the different colors in the bouquet. She didn't even know flowers could come in shades of light blue and orange!

"I'm always laughing because there are an infinite amount of things in this world to laugh at. If the effects of that are my living longer, then so be it," he replied nonchalantly.

"You make it sound as if you don't care how long you live. I thought men in their mid-life clung to such things more strongly," Scarlett said taking a jab at his evident older age. She knew he couldn't be too old since he made the 40 Under 40 list and he still looked young, but she still wanted to take a jab at him to see if his age was a weak point, as it was with most older men.

"You wound me and my lively 35 years! Besides, age is just a number. My years fail to show how young I am at heart, you reckless youth," Rhett laughed, obviously taking no offense to her jab at his age. 35!? she thought bewildered. He's 12 years older than me! I would have never guessed he was that much older!

"What are you doing here?" she asked after a pregnant pause, during which she scanned him for any signs of age and he stood still looking amused, likely because he knew what she was doing.

"To apologize for my conduct last night. I realize that I offended you with the impetuosity of my err... offer of company last night and that was not my intention. If you will allow me, I would like to make it up to you," he smirked, looking far from apologetic.

"Make it up to me? How?" she inquired. Although she had not known him long, she knew he was up to something and the thought intrigued her.

"By taking you to dinner. There's a restaurant nearby I have been intending to go to for a bottle of wine and I figured I might as well drag you along," he joked, his black eyes alert waiting for her response.

"I don't want to go anywhere with you," she replied snidely, not looking him in the eyes knowing that he would likely pick up on the truth.

"Glossing over the fact that I know you're lying, I have something of yours which I'm sure you would want returned," Rhett said mischievously.

"You have my clutch!?" she cried when she remembered her missing clutch, which had been left in his private room.

"And everything in it," he confirmed with a grin.

"You're not just going to give it back?" Scarlett asked, looking over him hopefully for signs of it.

"Nope," he stated simply.

"So you're blackmailing me into going to dinner with you?" she replied, affronted and amused by his antics.

"I choose to see it as _enticing_ you into going to dinner with me," he responded, again laughing at her.

Knowing there was no other way for her to get her things back and because she was interested to see how the evening would turn out, she agreed. "Fine."

"You'll go to dinner with me?" he pushed, wanting to make her confirm it.

"Yes!" she barked back.

"Excellent. Be ready by 6:50 when I come to get you," he informed her, unfazed by her tone. "Oh, and dress well."

"Dress well?" she questioned as he started to walk away.

"Dress code is casual formal," he said turning to face her as he pressed the call button for the elevator just up the hall.

"Hey! How did you know what room I was in?" Scarlett called before she walked back in the room when she realized she had not told him.

"You'd be surprised what a little flirting and a kiss on the hand would get you out of a newly single receptionist," Rhett winked as the elevator doors opened for him.

"Scumbag," she bit, what she thought had been under her breath. As she shut the door, she knew from his booming laughter that he had heard her.

* * *

"Tell her to go away!" Scarlett yelled from the bathroom at Cathleen who was sitting on her bed.

"I can't just tell her to go away!" Cathleen whispered, with her hand over the receiver of the hotel phone.

"Then make up some excuse for me! I cannot go out to dinner with them tonight and it's not like I'd want to see them anyway," she responded angrily. Scarlett had totally spaced on her original plans of the night to go to dinner with Melanie and Ashley until the phone call came in. Not only was she unwilling to put on a show for several hours that she was happy about the pregnancy, but she didn't want to face Ashley yet. The stupid fool! Plus, dinner with Rhett seemed much more entertaining a prospect than straining a smile all night.

"I'm sorry Melanie but Scarlett can't make it tonight. She hasn't been feeling well since last night and when she started getting ready to see you she threw up. It was awful!" Cathleen exclaimed. Scarlett laughed at the thought that all it really did take to make her feel nauseous was the thought of spending hours with Melanie, pretending to be happy.

"Oh I know sweetheart! And she was also looking forward to seeing you two tonight but I made her go to bed early... Yes I promise to have her call you tomorrow... Okay... Bye Melanie. There! Happy!?" Cathleen called to Scarlett.

"No because now I have to talk to her tomorrow," Scarlett jokingly replied as she started putting on her mascara. She was happy Cathleen had gotten rid of her, but just thinking of a pregnant Melanie irritated Scarlett.

"Better that than a whole dinner. Aren't we all flying back together though?" Cathleen asked.

"Yes and not seeing her tonight will give me more time to prepare for it," Scarlett answered, knowing the almost six hour flight tomorrow night would be hell.

"And what better way to prepare yourself than banging Butler!?" Cathleen squealed with envy.

"What did I tell you!? I'm not ba..." Scarlett raged from the bathroom when she heard a knock on the door. Poking her head out of the bathroom, she saw that the clock read exactly 6:50.

"Goddamn it! He's here on time!" Scarlett cried. She was hoping he would be late, but she knew her hopes were likely unfounded.

"What do you want me to do?" Cathleen asked from the bathroom doorway with a grin.

"Go let him in and tell him I'll be out in ten minutes. Go!" Scarlett replied shoving her out.

Scarlett scrambled to quickly finish her make-up and then brush her teeth. Once satisfied with her make-up and hair, she quickly put on lip-gloss and ran into the room to put on her dress. It took her hours to decide on the perfect dress to wear, but she finally settled on a tight white dress whose sweetheart neckline flattered her chest. While she was putting it on, she could hear Cathleen in the living room giggling incessantly and Rhett's laughter, causing her to roll her eyes. She quickly slipped on her strappy green Manolo Blahnik's and emerged from the room at 7:05, fifteen minutes late.

"You're late," he smirked when he saw her, giving her the most penetrating once-over she had ever received. It made her feel naked and shy, but she never faltered and showed it.

"I'm well worth it," she quipped with an equally humored smirk.

"We'll see about that," he spoke as he rose from his seat and moved toward her. Taking her hand in his, he kissed her middle two knuckles. The kiss was all it took to send her blood flowing and she hoped her exterior did not give it away.

"Are you ready now?" he asked, still amused at her lateness.

"Yes," she lightly snapped in reply.

"What? No purse?" he joked.

Scarlett saw no need to answer his question so she chose to give him the stink-eye instead. Taking her cue, he chuckled and started leading her towards the door.

"Goodbye Scarlett! Have a good dinner," Cathleen said when they got to the door and then added affectionately. "Bye Rhett."

"Goodbye sweetheart," he smiled as he winked at her when they left; Scarlett merely waved in reply.

"I think your friend has a crush on me," he laughed when they got into the elevator.

"We may only be a few months into 2013 but I'm going to nominate that now as understatement of the year," Scarlett laughed. When no longer in her prescience, Cathleen's infatuation with Rhett Butler was hilarious.

"I'm sure she'll take the grand prize and when she does, I'll hand it to her and give her a kiss on the cheek just to see if she will actually melt on the spot," he replied finding humor in the scenario playing out in his head.

"You're too confident in your abilities with women," she chided.

"Why shouldn't I be!? If I am anything, I'm charming. As is evident by you even being here right now, going with me to dinner," he pointed out.

"I'm going with you to get my clutch back," she corrected.

"And because you're intrigued by me," he finished for her as they stepped out of the elevator and started walking towards the lobby to leave.

"Same could be said for you," she said knowing she could never dissuade him from his original point, but knowing she could bring him down to her level.

"Yes but the difference between us is that I don't shirk away from admitting so," he laughed as they walked towards Clive, who was holding the door open for a black limousine. Scarlett smiled at him admitting that he was intrigued by her as she climbed into the backseat, with Rhett sliding in beside her.

"So tell me. Exactly what is tonight?" Scarlett asked after they had started driving. The question had started to bother her when she really tried to think about it.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Well, like, is this a date?" she hedged not wanting to face his criticism if she was wrong, but her curiosity on the matter won out.

"If you want it to be," he replied turning to her with a smile that melted her much as she was sure it would melt Cathleen.

"And if I don't?" she turned back on him with a sly smile. Suddenly the door to the limo had opened, with them having arrived at their destination in no time at all.

"Then it's whatever you want it to be," Rhett replied holding his hand out for her to take. She slid her small alabaster hand into his large tan one. The warmth that emanated from it both drew her in and startled her. It was so easy to rebuff him and his advances when they were talking, but it was another matter completely when touching him. She felt what she was sure was how Icarus felt when he realized that he was flying far too close to the sun.

Observing the arrival bay before her as she climbed out of the limo, she took in where she was. "The Palms?"

"Yes, but our destination is at the top," he answered as he offered her his arm. She gladly took it and they walked into the casino. Scarlett could not help but feel an odd sense of pride as women passed by and saw her and Rhett together. None of them hid their attraction to him as he walked by, nor did they hide their distaste at Scarlett being with him. She merely smiled as she walked past them, arm-in-arm with him, while he seemed to not notice a thing. He's probably used to it, she idly thought.

Ascending in the elevator, they stood in silence, with her hand still clutching his offered arm, observing the crackling electricity between them. Neither made a move nor said a word out of fear that whatever was happening between them would cease. Scarlett felt confusion at the thought that she would want to feel that way with him when she loved Ashley, but she refused to dwell on it.

"Welcome to Alize," said an overly cheerful hostess when the elevator doors opened. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Butler," he replied smoothly.

"Oh, Mr. Butler! We were starting to wonder if you would show after you missed your time. You're usually so prompt," the hostess informed him, still not having glanced at Scarlett once.

"In defense of myself, I was ready on time to be here, but a certain someone wasn't," he joked as he smiled down to Scarlett."

"I see. Will you both mind following me?" said the annoyingly cheery hostess girl, after losing some of her cheer at not being fawned over by Rhett.

Once at the table, Rhett instructed Scarlett to get whatever she wanted to eat but that he was going to order their drinks. Looking at the menu, she could not believe how expensive certain items were. $18 for a crab cake!? $12 for French onion soup!? $75 for lobster!? Sure, she had eaten at some expensive places, she did live in NYC after all, but this was ridiculous! And don't even get her started on how expensive those drinks he was going to order were!

"Good evening Mr. Butler and Miss..." the handsome waiter named Eric started for her to fill in.

"O'Hara," she smiled back.

"O'Hara," he acknowledged. "What drinks would you like to start the night off with?"

"We would like your bottle of the Screaming Eagle '92. I called ahead to reserve it for tonight," Rhett ordered.

"Yes, I believe you did sir. I'll go get that for you now," Eric said with a tone of slight awe as he left to go retrieve the bottle Rhett requested from the sprawling, several stories high wine cellar in the center of the restaurant.

To see what he had order, Scarlett started to scour the wines menu, recalling that he was coming here for a bottle of wine. The wine list was fascinating since it was constantly changing whenever they got a new arrival. Alize seemed to specialize in acquiring rare, exotic wines for its patrons. Scarlett started to get frustrated when she couldn't find the wine Rhett had ordered, but then she looked towards the top of the list again and saw it. My Lord! she exclaimed in her head when she saw the price of the bottle.

"Not every day you're with a gentleman who orders a $7,000 bottle of wine is it?" he teased. Looking up, she saw him smile and figured he must have been watching her look over the list and her reaction to seeing his wine selection.

"I suppose not. What makes it worth so much?" she asked curiously.

"Only 175 cases of it were produced in '92, which is the best year for that particular vintage. In my humble opinion," he added without the least bit of humility.

"The last thing you are is humble," Scarlett observed.

"I can put on a pretty good show of it," Rhett laughed, which led Scarlett to laugh as well.

When Eric returned with the wine, he poured each of them a glass and retreated after Scarlett and Rhett ordered their appetizers; Scarlett the phyllo wrapped Anjou pear and Rhett the grilled prawn salad. Tasting the wine, Scarlett was taken aback by how different it tasted from other wines she'd had. The purple wine was incredibly bold, almost to the point of being overbearing, but it left behind the most delectable taste of blackcurrants and spice that kept her coming back for more. It was divine.

"Enjoying your wine?" Rhett inquired.

"Oh yes! And don't tell me that I broke a bottle of it the other night either because then I might actually finally feel bad for what I did," she joked.

"God forbid you should ever feel bad about assaulting the man! No, I can assure you that you didn't break a bottle of this the other night. If you had, I would never forgive you," he laughed.

"I would never forgive myself!" she exclaimed.

"What do you say to us ordering the other bottle when this one's gone? It's ours for the taking if we want it," he offered with a mischievous smile.

"Order the other bottle!? Are you sure?" Scarlett asked, shocked. She wanted nothing more than for him to get the other bottle, but it was so much and she had only known him for a few days and didn't want him thinking she was taking advantage of him.

"Of course! If I'm going to get drunk over dinner, what better way to do it!?" he teased. The prospect of seeing him drunk amused Scarlett, so she agreed.

Over the course of the dinner, Rhett made for good company but Scarlett scarcely noticed. She was too busy eating to her heart's desire even though she knew how unattractive it must look. Her pear appetizer was amazing and Rhett, laughing but willingly, allowed her to try his prawn salad and then finish it. She stormed through her pan seared duck breast as Rhett enjoyed his lamb and then started eating the lobster he bought for them to share. Scarlett didn't know why she was eating at the rate that she was, maybe it was because she felt so comfortable with him even though she felt she was constantly on her toes or maybe it was all the wine, who knows. Either way, Rhett seemed to find it amusing but made no comment on the matter. When they finished their desserts of chocolate fondant and a Grand Marnier soufflé, he had the waiter wrap their now empty bottles of wine for them to take after Scarlett said she wanted to keep one. After he paid for the meal, which Scarlett saw was in the neighborhood of $15,000, they left the restaurant arm-in-arm in a drunken flurry of laughter, or at least drunken on Scarlett's part.

"Oh Rhett! Are you going to keep the other bottle?" she asked as they got into the elevator.

"Yes, it would make a great target during shot practice," he responded with a grin.

"You can't shot at it! It's too pretty and expensive to use as a target. Please promise me you won't shoot it," she demanded to his humored face.

"What if I want to shoot it? I have no use for an empty bottle of my favorite wine," he pointed out good naturedly.

"If you didn't care about what happened to it you wouldn't have had it wrapped! Promise me you won't shoot it," she cried.

"Alright I promise not to shoot it. I'll just find another way to break it," he teased.

"You're impossible, you know that!?" she laughed.

"So I've been told," he chuckled as they got out of the elevator.

Climbing into the backseat of his limo, Scarlett noticed a beautifully wrapped box on the bar beside her. She started to reach for it when Rhett grabbed her hand to stop her as he placed the bag with their bottles in it beside the bar.

"Not just yet my dear," he said as he let go of her hand.

"But it's for me isn't it?" she questioned excitedly.

"If you behave yourself it is," Rhett replied.

"If I behave myself? And hey! Where is my clutch!? That was my reason for even coming out with you," she slurred.

"Your words would lacerate my heart Scarlett if I didn't know that was a lie. And your clutch, my darling debutante, is in that box," he responded as he gently pushed aside a stray hair on her forehead. His touch was even more tantalizing now, if that were possible, and Scarlett forced herself with great effort to not show it.

"Then why can't I open it now?" she asked making another reach for the box. He quickly stopped her and restrained both of her hands with one of his. Scarlett made no effort to take her hands back.

"Because I don't want you to," he smiled as the door opened to signal that they were back at the Bellagio. Rhett grabbed the box and a bottle for her out of the bag and escorted her into the hotel. During the ride up in the elevator, Scarlett laid her head against his firm arm. Her drunkenness was catching up to her, making her both sleepy and giddy. Arriving at her floor, Scarlett started to feel sad that their evening was coming to an end. He had been so much fun to dine with and though aggravating at times, he was amusing.

"Thank you for the evening Rhett," Scarlett said as he placed the box and the bottle on the entry table outside the room.

"The pleasure was all mine Scarlett," he conceded looking down at her with plain amusement.

"When are you going back to New York?" she inquired.

"I'm actually leaving from here to the airport. You?" he asked in return.

"Tomorrow night," she informed him.

"I do always have fun when I'm here, but I must say I will enjoy going being back in the state of excess and plenty," he joked.

"Me too," she commented as she shifted uncomfortably on her feet, not knowing what else to say, when she felt his hand under her chin lifting her face to look into his.

"Goodnight Scarlett," Rhett said looking into her emerald green eyes.

"Goodnight Rhett," Scarlett said, while in her head screaming for him to kiss her. He was so close to her that she could feel the heat radiating off of him and smell the wine on his breath. It made for a heady combination that negated any potential thought of Ashley slipping in. Just when it looked like he was going to kiss her, he pulled his face away and let his hold of her chin go, much to Scarlett's disappointment.

"Just so you know, I placed my number inside your present. Feel free to call me," he said as he walked backwards towards the elevator so he could continue facing Scarlett.

"And what makes you think I'll call?" she called to him flirtatiously.

All he did was smile at her in the most seductive way possible until the door to the elevator opened. Before he stepped in he simply responded, "I'll see you back in New York."

And with that he was gone, leaving Scarlett with a present, a wine bottle, and heaps of disappointment at not being kissed.


	4. Prohibition

_**A/N: Wow! The response to this story has been amazing! Thank you all so much! To answer lawdymissscarlett's question: Buying a table is a club practice that happens at major party destinations like in NYC, Miami, LV, and LA. The more money people spend, the more a table costs; meaning how much you have to at least spend :)**_

**Chapter 4: Prohibition  
**

Two weeks had passed since Scarlett's return to New York and she was starting to feel a sense of unease. Although she was going through the motions of what her life would normally detail, she felt as though her world had been turned upside down.

Some of the changes seemed to be for the better; such as her boost in reputation after everybody came back raving about the charity ball. Scarlett was still getting compliments about the affair and even getting offers to plan other parties. She could have a career in party planning if she wanted to! The prospect seemed exciting, but she wanted to continue to run her father's textile factory in NYC. Running it seemed to give her purpose and great joy, but even work could not uncloud her mind of what was causing her distress.

First and foremost was the troublesome factor of Melanie's pregnancy. Melly was normally endlessly irritating, but now that she finally had her dreams of pregnancy realized, she was insufferable. Even more annoying was the way Ashley was now doting on her. He was always asking how she and the baby were doing, if there was anything he could do for them, or if they needed something. It was always her and the baby that he addressed, not just Melly, which was peculiar to Scarlett at first but she did not trouble her mind with it. It was just another of Ashley's increasingly bothersome attributes that made Scarlett seriously consider jumping out of the airplane without a parachute on the way back to New York.

One of the big reasons her mind could not be troubled further by thoughts of Melanie and Ashley was because it was already under siege with thoughts of that peculiar Rhett Butler. He was undeniably handsome, incredibly sensual, and equal parts charming and annoying. It was a curious combination that Scarlett found infinitely intriguing. While in Las Vegas he had shown her a fun (and expensive) time and she knew she owed him another thank you.

Not for the night, but for the present he had left her. Scarlett had torn right into it when she entered her room and what she found took her breath away. Inside the box was not only her old clutch with everything still inside, but a brand new Judith Leiber clutch she had wanted desperately but could not justify buying, what with a $4,000 price tag. It was shaped like a hexagon with gold trimming and covered in tiny crystals that formed different colored triangles. Underneath the masterfully made clutch was a handwritten note from Rhett that read:

_Someone as pretty and spoiled as you should always be in-season._

_Rhett_

Scarlett reveled in the fact that he called her pretty, but then got inflamed when she reread the note and saw that he had called her spoiled. Can that man ever give a compliment that's not backhanded!? she thought exasperatedly. It was almost enough to make her call him right then and there to yell at him, he had left her his number on the note, but she didn't want to feed into his game so she resisted the urge.

But now her urge to see him was becoming overwhelming as she sat at her desk in her office at King Cotton anticipating what was soon to be Friday night. She had no plans, or rather she had purposely not made any, and it gave her the perfect excuse to see him. Before she lost her resolve, she picked up her phone and sent a text message to Rhett.

_Hi it's Scarlett. Do you have any plans for tonight?_

He had a way of putting her on edge, even when he wasn't in the room and she started to feel anxious when he didn't reply quickly, which to her was within ten minutes of sending the text. She started to think he was blowing her off when he hadn't responded after half an hour, but then her phone buzzed signaling a text. When she checked her notifications, she smiled when she saw his name beside a new text message and she immediately opened it.

_I don't know. Do I?_

Jesus Mary Joseph! Does he really have to challenge me even in text messages!? she exclaimed inwardly. Well, I'm definitely not going to play into his game of ignorance. I'll just have to make him go!

_Yes, drinks with me._

She smiled as she sent the text feeling as if she had one upped him somehow, until she got his reply.

_I can practically feel your domineering nature through the phone._

What an ass! What does he want me to do!? Beg him to go out with me!? No way. I don't beg for dates, Scarlett thought indignantly.

_Suit yourself. _

Sending off what she thought would be her last text to him ever (or at least for a good while) she threw her phone into her purse and locked up her office. Walking out of the building to hail a taxi, she decided to call up Cathleen to go bar hopping or watch a movie. At least Cathleen wouldn't give her a run around. Once in the taxi Scarlett pulled out her phone to text her when she saw a reply waiting from Rhett. Letting curiosity win out, she opened it.

_Send me your address. I'll get you at 9._

Victory is sweet, she simpered as she sent her address. Elation started to flow through her veins that she would be going out with Rhett. She could only begin to imagine how much attention being with him would garner. Maybe she would even make Page 6! He was exciting, the night was going to be exciting, and Scarlett could not wait for it all to begin.

* * *

A knock on her door alerted Scarlett that Rhett had arrived. Taking a peek at her phone she saw that he had arrived at 9 o'clock exactly. Goddamn, why is he so prompt? I've never known someone so prompt in my life! Scarlett smiled nervously to herself as she ran to get the door. When she flung it open, she saw him standing there leaning against her door frame with a smirk.

"What's so funny Rhett Butler?" she asked suspiciously.

After scanning the area around him again he turned to her and laughed. "I should have known you would live in this architectural horror."

"Architectural horror!? This is one of the latest and greatest buildings in Manhattan!" Scarlett cried. She took great pride in living in the New York by Gehry; a 76 story skyscraper which happened to be the tallest residential building in the United States. Its look was ultra modern and often compared by those who saw it to a transformer that was actively twisting into the sky.

"Yes, and it's also the latest and greatest eyesore on the eastern seaboard," he quipped as he walked into her apartment towards her living room, which had a front row seat to the Brooklyn Bridge and a view of the Empire State building.

"Say what you will but you can't beat that view," Scarlett said smugly.

"Ignorance is bliss Scarlett," Rhett replied with a tone that made her wonder what kind of secret he was hiding.

"I have to finish getting ready. Could you wait here for a second?" she asked as she started to make her way back to her bathroom.

"Do I have a choice?" he laughed at her retreat.

"No," she called back.

Scarlett quickly brushed her teeth and sprayed herself with her favorite perfume. Looking herself over once more in the mirror, she was sufficiently satisfied with her appearance. She quickly picked up her new clutch from Rhett and made her way back into the living room. For what could have only been a split second, she was able to observe him in his natural state, the way he was when he thought no one was looking. He was resting casually against the wall near her view of the Brooklyn Bridge listening to her iPod with a small smile on his face. Before she could process the sight he turned to her, as if he sensed her enter the room, and grinned.

"What are you listening to?" she questioned curiously as she approached him.

Rather than answer, he took the clutch in her hand and placed it on the end table beside him as he handed her an ear bud. Placing it in her ear she heard the familiar song start to play as he took her in his arms and started to guide her in a slow sway. In her available ear, he whispered, "Sing it to me."

"_And I have to speculate that God himself  
Did make us into corresponding shapes like  
Puzzle pieces from the clay_

_"And true, it may seem like a stretch, but  
Its thoughts like this that catch my troubled  
Head when you're away when I am missing you to death  
_

"_When you are out there on the road for  
Several weeks of shows and when you scan  
The radio, I hope this song will guide you home"_

As Scarlett sang and swayed with Rhett, she laid her head on his firm chest and enjoyed the way her body easily molded against his. When the chorus came she was surprised when her soprano voice was joined by his bass. Their voices harmonized and blended together in such a way that it became hard to distinguish where her tone ended and his began.

"_They will see us waving from such great  
Heights, 'come down now,' they'll say  
But everything looks perfect from far away,  
'come down now,' but we'll stay..."_

When the song ended, Scarlett felt something that was comparable only to a sense of loss. She wished that they could continue singing together forever, off in their own little world. Slowly she lifted her head to face Rhett and she was pleased to see that he was wearing an expression that matched her own longing to return to where they had been. They continued to look at each other, feeling as if time itself was suspended, until Rhett spoke.

"You smell like an alien," he slowly drawled.

"What?" Scarlett replied, completely baffled after having been yanked out of her sort of trance until she realized what he was referring to. "Oh! You mean my perfume? Do you like it?"

"I do. Remind me to send Thierry Mugler a personal note of gratitude for having made that divine eau de toilette you're wearing," Rhett smiled.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," she giggled as she once again picked up her clutch, their moment having been long broken. "I would have never pegged you for a Postal Service fan."

"My tastes in music tend to be as eclectic and varied as my tastes in women," he remarked as he followed her out the door to leave.

"Must you always make such crude comments about women?" she said rolling her eyes as she locked the door. It was strange that not only did she feel her usual irritation towards such a comment, but also experienced a stab of jealousy at the mention of others.

"Crude!? I tend to think I make very gracious comments about women and my love for them. The real question is why do you react so strangely towards any comments pertaining towards women, especially sex," he mused as he searched her for a reaction.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she quickly dismissed knowing that he would not stop until he got his answer. Why can't this elevator move faster!? she wondered desperately.

"Yes, you do. You visibly recoil at the mention of anything that could even be remotely related to sex. Why?"

"That's none of your business."

"I'm not trying to criticize you. If anything I want to help dissuade any misguided notions of yours."

"That's very kind of you, but no thanks," she sarcastically retorted with compounding anxiety.

"I'll let the matter drop Scarlett, if for no other reason than that it makes you terribly uncomfortable, but let me say this. I'd be willing to bet that you have had some, how shall I say this, unfulfilling experiences with intimacy and they have jaded your view of what sex is and should be."

"I don't believe that, especially coming from you!"

"Why do you say it like that!?" he inquired, genuinely shocked at her statement.

"Because you're a man."

"Oh Jesus! It's even worse than I thought! You have clearly been with men who are selfish lovers and had no idea how to pleasure a woman. Scarlett, I promise that women can get just as much out of sex as men can, if not more."

"Shut up Rhett! I don't want to speak of this any further!"

"But Scarlett..."

"SHUT UP!" Scarlett cried far too loudly in the small elevator.

The silence between them was deafening on the final descent to the lobby and Scarlett started to feel as if she were suffocating. Talking about sex, even with girlfriends, made her feel so uncomfortable that she always tried to find a way to get out of the conversation. If talking about sex was a 10 out of 10 on the nerves scale with girlfriends, it was a 1,000 out of 10 with Rhett. He made it sound as if it was a simple matter that could easily be solved, but it wasn't. This whole sex myth that everyone believed in was a lie! It had to be! If sex was all that it was chalked up to be then she would have had that with Ashley when they had sex. But it hadn't been, so it must be false. Not even Rhett Butler, a man that practically radiated sexual energy, could make sex enjoyable for her and she knew it!

The elevator doors opening was like the second coming to Scarlett. She was so eager to get out of the elevator and away from Don Juan himself that she practically face planted after stepping out. She speed walked through the lobby, ignoring the concierge man waving goodbye, and stepped out into the crisp night spring air. Walking to the curb, she started to hail a cab for her and Rhett when she heard him say her name.

"Scarlett," he called to her from beside a sleek black car parked in front of the building. His expression showed that he was both amused and apologetic, so she put her frustration towards him aside and walked towards him, staring at the car the whole time. Scarlett could tell it was an Aston Martin, but for the life of her she could not figure out what model it was, or even if she had ever seen it before.

"Not opulent enough of a ride for you, Scarlett? Should I have brought the Bugatti?" he laughed, obviously interpreting her confusion for disapproval.

"Oh no! It's beautiful. I'm just not sure if I've ever seen one. What's it called?" she inquired as he opened the door for her to get in.

"This is an Aston Martin One-77. Odds are you've never seen one before or ever will again," Rhett smirked as he closed her door. When he got in, she continued her questioning.

"Why won't I see one again? Aston Martins aren't exactly exotic, rare cars here in New York."

"Well, even in this state this car is exotic and rare. You know what the 77 in the name stands for?"

"No...?"

"It's the number of them that there are... in the entire world. Only 77 have been made and that is all that ever will be. That's why you will likely never see it again because even those fortunate enough to have one aren't usually stupid enough to drive it around. They put it on display somewhere and leave it there."

"So you're stupid when it comes to your cars?"

"Absolutely. If I possess something I love as much as I love this car, I show it off. By the way, I see that you're using the clutch I got you."

"Oh yes! I absolutely love it Rhett! This clutch to me is what this car is to you."

"Nobody loves anything or anybody as much as I love this car."

"You're underestimating my power to love Mr. Butler."

"Let us hope so," he replied cryptically with a dazzling smile that put Scarlett at ease and excited her all at once. It was so strange how her emotions could swing so violently from one end of the spectrum to the other. While it was dizzying, it also made her feel so alive. God he was so exciting!

Rhett did not drive for more than twenty minutes before he stopped in front of their destination. Scarlett almost jumped out of her skin with glee when she saw where Rhett was taking her for drinks.

"No way! I love Prohibition!" she cried excitedly.

"I'm glad to hear it. I have a penchant for this place as well," he laughed at her overwhelmingly happy response.

"I wonder why we've never run into each other then," she wondered aloud.

"Probably because I don't come here as often as I'd like. My schedule doesn't allow as much room for fun as I'd like."

"Then how fortunate that I caught you on a night when you weren't busy!"

Rhett just smiled at her as if she had clearly missed something and got out of the car to go open her door. Scarlett took his arm as he escorted her into the bar, where they were immediately seated. To start the evening off she ordered a Warm and Toasty, one of their signature drinks modeled after one served during the Prohibition, and Rhett ordered a single malt scotch.

Their time at the bar was as entertaining as Scarlett hoped. They enjoyed the live jazz band and he regaled her with a ridiculous tale of how his great-great-great-great grandfather, or something like that, was a pirate. The alcohol in her system made her a little more vocal with her thoughts than usual and this caused her to gush about how his ancestry explained his swarthy good looks. He jumped on the comment and baited her to tell him about what else she thought was attractive about him, to which she responded that he was being indecent. They both ended up laughing it off though and continued their evening out. Rhett made no comment about drinks she ordered until her last one, which was a Roaring Twenties.

"Scarlett, are you sure you want to order that?" he asked skeptically.

"Of course I'm sure! Why!?" she replied adamantly.

"Because that drink has absinthe in it."

"So?"

"SO, I've seen seasoned drinkers taken out by absinthe and you're already drunk."

"Iamnotdrunk!" Scarlett was clearly drunk.

"And to think that statement would have been far more believable had you not slurred your whole way through it!"

"You shut your face. I drink what I want."

"Fine, but be warned, I am not dragging you're your inebriated derrière up fifty flights of stairs; no matter how beautiful said derrière may be."

"You think I'm sexy."

"Not when you're six mixed drinks to the wind."

"LIES! You always think I'm sexy!"

"Believe what you will, Miss O'Hara."

"Rhett?"

"Scarlett?"

"Why do you talk as if you're from the 19th century?"

"If by that you mean why do I sound literate, it's because I am."

"You're a condescending jerk, ya know that?"

"And you're a drunk slob-kabob. There! Aren't you happy that I just sounded like the all other drunken fools in here?"

Scarlett failed to hear the rest of what he had to say after "slob-kabob." She started laughing to the point where she cried and it made her happy to see him join her. While she was occupied, Rhett threw two hundred dollar bills on the bar to pay for their drinks (more like her drinks) and then started to escort her out of the bar and into his car.

"Rhett, where are we going?" she asked once he was seated and driving.

"I'm taking you home, of course."

"But it's only 12:30!"

"And you're already plenty drunk for an entire night, my dear. Besides, I have a meeting in the morning."

"In the morning? But tomorrow is Saturday."

"Astute assessment."

"But why are you working on Saturday?"

"Because money never sleeps and neither do I now that I think about it."

"Where do you live?" she asked, wanting to know where he lived since he knew where she did.

"Would you like to see?"

"Yes!"

"Then look to the left."

Looking out the window, she looked up and saw an old landmark of Manhattan that she saw nearly every day on the way to work.

"Oh Rhett! You really live in the Beresford!?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said with evident pride. "Penthouse and everything. 90 feet of terrace overlooking Central Park. I dare say, you would be jealous."

"Can I see it!?" she inquired eagerly.

"Certainly! Just not tonight."

"Why?"

"Because it is a sight for sober eyes," he winked at her.

Arriving back at her building, she began to feel disappointed that their time together was ending. Why do I always feel like this when I leave him? Scarlett mused. You would think I was crazy for the guy! But I can't be. I'm in love with Ashley... right? Rhett's just a fun time, he has to be. Standing in the elevator, Scarlett looked up to his handsome face and smiled. He returned her gaze and smiled back as if he were finding great humor in their situation.

"Can you pick me up?" she questioned flirtatiously, wanting to find a way for him to hold her without flat out asking for it.

"Do you mean am I capable of picking you up or do you want me to pick you up?"

"If you picked me up I would know you were capable of doing it," she responded hopefully.

Rhett laughed heartily at her suggestion and then without notice, he swept her off her feet and cradled her easily in his arms. An elated Scarlett giggled at his prowess and enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms.

"Satisfied?" he asked humorously while looking into her eyes.

"No. You're going to have to carry me to my door to satisfy my curiosity," she replied coquettishly. To her delight, he did not set her down and did indeed carry her to her doorway without having to even straining himself.

"Thank you for the night Rhett. I had a great time."

"As did I," he smirked mischievously. "I'll call you tomorrow to see how you're doing."

"Okay. Goodnight Rhett," Scarlett responded hoping he would give her a kiss goodnight.

"Goodnight Scarlett," Rhett said as he gently held her hand and kissed it. The kiss electrified her, but she was met with disappointment when he smiled at her one last time and started to walk away towards the elevator.

"Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Rhett stopped his progress towards the elevator and turned around to face her with what she would later recall as a triumphant grin. "No, not yet. But don't fret, I'll kiss you soon enough."

God, he makes it sound like it will be a life altering event! Scarlett scoffed inwardly as she turned around and went into her apartment.


End file.
